Trouble on Nirvana
by Cody Sherer
Summary: While Shepard fights to bring the races of the galaxy together, Admiral Hackett sends two N7 operatives to scout out and shutdown a Cerberus base. What they find is unexpected and life threatening. Takes place during the events of Mass Effect 3.


Captain Marcus Simons took in a deep breath as he rested the butt of his sniper rifle against his shoulder. He slowed his breathing as he followed his target with the scope. The Batarian was completely unsuspecting of his impending doom. _Make the drop… the_ Captain's thoughts were cut off by the sound of his Omni-tool beeping. He glanced down for a moment and then looked back through the scope. The Batarian was no longer in his sights. He scanned the area with his scope, but was unable to track his quarry. His Omni-tool beeped again as he let out a deep sigh. He leaned the rifle against the wall and took its carrying case off his back. The Omni-tool beeped again as he gingerly placed the rifle into its case. He opened the communications link and addressed whoever was contacting him.

"Captain Simons," He said.

"Captain, you've been reassigned. The Batarian is no longer your main objective. We've already arranged for your transport off the Citadel. You know the procedure."

Simons glanced back over at the hustle and bustle of the Presidium Commons. The Batarian had reentered view and was being tailed by two C-Sec officers. _They'll never catch him_, he thought as he watched the officers slowly begin to lag behind. Just when the Batarian looked as though he were about to escape, a Turian and a Human began arguing just a few feet from his position. The Turian shoved the Human backward, knocking him into the Batarian. More than likely fueled by his hatred of Humans, the Batarian attempted to punch the Human. Both the Turian and the Human quickly turned to face their new opponent. The Human ducked the Batarian's punch and grabbed the alien by the torso. His Turian companion took hold of the Batarian's upper body and together the two deftly launched the alien off the ledge. They quickly turned and made sure that nobody had seen them before leaving the scene.

* * *

Simons settled into his seat on the SSV Marksman as he waited for the others to enter the briefing room. The ship had been retrofitted to allow for comfort as well as functionality. As such, the briefing room had several padded chairs for people to sit in while being briefed. Two more humans entered the room, one male and one female. They looked to be as near as one could get to polar opposites. The man was well over six feet tall and grossly overweight, while the woman was just above five feet and rather thin. _They need to add a rule about weight_, Simons thought as he looked at the man's stature. The man motioned for the woman to take a seat. He then pressed a few buttons on the briefing room computer before addressing the two.

"Captain Simons, I am Captain Adams and this is Captain Cassandra Malone. She will be accompanying you on this mission." The Captain spoke with in such a way that made Simons think he would have a heart attack at any moment.

"Captain Adams, is that you?" A voice sounded over the intercom.

"It is, Admiral."

"Dismissed, Captain."

"At once, sir." Adams replied as he scurried out of the room.

"Ah, much better. This is an important mission and I don't need him getting in the way. Now, let's get down to business. Your target is a Cerberus facility that is housing some kind of Reaper tech. We've gotten mixed reports as to what you'll find there, so be cautious. Hackett out."

Captain Simons looked down at the information readout that displayed above his Omni-tool. It showed a detailed analysis of their mission and provided extra information that Hackett felt was helpful, but not necessary. He glanced over at Malone and noticed that she too was looking over the information readout. Her brown hair hung down over her face. Simons watched her as she flipped through the slides that had been provided for them. The Captain glanced up at the door when he heard the sound of it opening. He gave a quick nod to communications specialist Jackson who was entering the room, hoping that neither he nor Malone had noticed him watching her. Jackson cleared his throat and waited for the other two to look in his direction before addressing them.

"Admiral Hackett has sent me here to make sure the two of you are completely up to speed on what you'll be dealing with. Do either of you have any questions?" Jackson asked.

"I thought Nirvana was one of ours, what happened?" Simons asked.

"As far as we can tell, nothing. It looks like we caught break with this one. Cerberus dropped down a small portable research facility and one of our scanners picked it up. They must have figured we were too busy with the Reapers to notice."

"Or we are walking into a trap," Cassandra said as she stood up. "What kind of information do we have on what we'll be facing?"

"Our intelligence reports say that there shouldn't be more than fifteen or twenty Cerberus operatives. That isn't the key to the mission though. They've been experimenting heavily with biological, biotic, and technological implants. Rumor has it that they are trying to develop the perfect soldier." Jackson pressed a button on the console and a picture of a Cerberus trooper displayed.

* * *

The shuttle slowed as they neared the Cerberus base. "You're on your own from here, Captain," the pilot said as the Kodiak hovered over the complex. Captain Simons nodded as he readied his Valkyrie and opened the shuttle door, half expecting to be shot at. Both N7 operatives were surprised to find no resistance. Malone dropped down first as Simons covered her. She pulled out her Hurricane and motioned for the Marcus to follow. They cautiously approached the front door with their guns ready. Captain Simons lifted his hand toward the door to begin a hacking maneuver. _Power must be out_, he thought as he holstered his rifle and prepared to pry open the door. Malone kept her SMG in one hand and used her free hand to assist with forcing the door open. A lone Cerberus trooper fell through the opening of the door.

"Looks like somebody got here before us," Simons said as he looked down at the body.

"Who would have known about this station?" Malone asked.

"It could be that the Illusive Man wanted to clear the place out."

"If so, they didn't do a very good job following orders."

Marcus nodded as he stepped over the body and into the darkness. He switched on a light on his helmet and took out his rifle. Captain Malone followed closely behind, switching on her own light and covering their backs. Simons tapped Cassandra on the shoulder to signal her to stop. He pointed toward the darkness where there was a low scratching noise. They both turned and opened fire on whatever was making the noise. The sound of a thud hitting the floor prompted them to stop firing. As they closed in on their target, the sound of loud footsteps alerted them to an approaching enemy. They opened fire on whatever was moving and only stopped when they saw it step into the light. A massive Krogan was charging toward them and their only option was to dive to the side. Cassandra spun around after hitting the floor and unleashed a ball of biotic energy. It slammed into the Krogan's back, knocking it off balance. Marcus sprung to his feet and closed in on the Krogan.

"It's indoctrinated!" He yelled as he opened fire on it.

"The Reapers were here?" Cassandra asked as she joined him next to the body.

"No, it looks like it is Cerberus' doing."

Cassandra nodded as they moved from the Krogan to the Salarian. The female Salarian showed signs of indoctrination. Unlike the Krogan, it appeared that they were using the Salarian as a scientist. As they were examining the scientist, Cassandra found a nearby research station. She powered up the device with her Omni-tool and proceeded to transfer the files to their Omni-tools while she was waiting for Marcus to join her. They split the task into two parts with Malone looking for information on what Cerberus was doing at the station and Simons looking for a map of the installation. She found a list of patients, all of whom were Krogan, Turian, Batarian, or Drell. Marcus had found a map of the complex and switched his attention over to what she was looking at. They both found a video of the Salarian scientist with another Cerberus scientist.

"Is it working?" The Salarian asked.

"Yes, it should be," Her human counterpart replied.

"It has been nearly a month since our last entry," The Salarian said as she turned toward the recorder. "In that short time span things have gone horribly wrong. Chadwick and I will try to outline as much as we can in this log so that others can continue our work uninterrupted." She turned away from the recorded and adjusted an information readout. "The indoctrination has sped up the process for the Turians and the Drell, unfortunately, it seems to have left the Krogans in a state of rage. We have been unable to see much change in the Batarians. At this point, we are down to two Drell, three Turians, two Krogan, and five Batarians. Many of the hosts rejected their cybernetic overhauls, which led to their being expelled from the program. We have been using them as experiments for other things."

"What was that?" Chadwick asked as he backpedaled into the frame.

"They've escaped, I can see one now."

The video feed cut out, leaving the N7 operatives to wonder how the Salarian had survived. Simons looked down at the map displayed on his Omni-tool and then motioned for Captain Malone to follow. There was a long corridor in-between them and the power room. It was too long for their headlamps to reach to the end, leaving Marcus on edge. He slowly made his way forward, constantly checking for hostiles. A low mumbling was coming from the corner on the far side of the hallway. Simons held out his hand, motioning for Cassandra to cover him as he got closer. She nodded and prepped herself for an altercation. Much to Marcus' surprise, they found a lone Turian sitting in the corner. He shows signs of indoctrination, but appeared to be slightly coherent. Marcus put a hand on his shoulder to alert him to their presence. The Turian's eyes went wide and he grabbed hold of the Captain's hand.

"It is coming for me!" He yelled as he used Marcus' arm to pull himself up.

Cassandra moved to intercept him, but Captain Simons waved her off. When she approached to question him, he pointed toward a nearby door. The red lettering on the door read "power station." Marcus reached out and began pulling the door open as Malone covered him. Bullets sprayed the wall on the other side of the hallway as the door slid open. Cassandra threw up a biotic barrier to shield them as both dove for cover. Two exited the power station with the guns blazing. Marcus rolled forward and hooked the legs of the soldier nearest to his position. As the trooper hit the floor, he plunged his Omni-blade into the man's gut. Cassandra hit her target with a biotic blast and followed up with a few shots from her SMG. The N7 operatives cautiously checked the power station room before entering.

"We need to see if the power has been drained or if somebody just turned it off," Marcus said as they began searching the room.

"My guess is that those two turned off the power to seal off the experiments," Cassandra replied.

"I agree, let's see if we can't find a power switch somewhere."

"Here it is." Malone flipped the large level just underneath where the power cell was housed.

The lights flickered on, revealing a gruesome scene. Two Batarians were slumped against the wall on the far side of the room and there were several dead Cerberus personnel in the room as well. "I thought I almost tripped over something," Marcus muttered as he stepped over one of the bodies. There were Cerberus soldiers and scientists alike in the casualties. All of them, as well as the two Batarians, showed signs of indoctrination. _What is the Illusive Man up to?_ Simons wondered as he examined the bodies. The Batarians had been shot, but several of the Cerberus members were torn to pieces. By his best estimation, the Batarians had been cornered in the power station and put up more of a fight than Cerberus was expecting.

"I've never seen biotics with the ability to tear people limb from limb like this," Cassandra said as she examined the bodies.

"Most of the soldiers are still intact, it would appear that the Batarians found the scientists here and decided to get some payback," Marcus replied.

"Let's hope the others don't try the same with us."

Marcus nodded as he peeked out of the door. The Turian whom they had conversed with before was slumped over in the hall in a pool of his own blood. Captain Simons grimaced as he approached the body. He looked down at the map displayed on his Omni-tool. There were only three ways in or out of the corridor, the entrance, the power station, and the research lab. Not wanting to be ambushed from behind, Marcus motioned for Cassandra to follow him back to the entrance. They arrived back at the entrance to find one of the Batarians stooping down over the Salarian's body. Both Captains opened fire without hesitation. The Batarian's eyes went wide when he saw the two N7 operatives. He attempted to retaliate, but the impact of the bullets was too much for him to handle. As he was falling, a small biotic ball shot out of his hand and impacted against the ceiling. The N7 specialists checked to make sure the room was clearing before turning back toward the research lab.

"Jackson, you read me?" Marcus said as he opened up a channel to the Marksman.

"Load and clear, Captain. How can I help you?" Jackson asked.

"I'm sending you some files, if we don't make it out of here alive, you need to send them to Hackett."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"I want this location bombarded in twenty minutes."

Captain Simons didn't wait for the reply. He used his Omni-tool to open the door to the research lab. A lone Drell was fighting with a lone Krogan and neither appeared to have the upper hand. The Drell was faster and far more skilled, but the Krogan was regenerating at speeds that allowed him to take massive damage. Each of the Drell's hits was augmented by biotic energy, but it still didn't seem to be enough to take down the Krogan. Cassandra and Marcus stayed at the door and watched as the two continued to fight. The Drell danced around the Krogan, hitting and kicking him multiple times per second. Neither of the combatants had noticed the two newcomers and was intent on winning their battle. The Krogan reared back and charged forward while biotically enhancing his attack. His Drell opponent somersaulted to the side, causing him to crash into the nearby wall. The Drell sprung forward and began beating the Krogan in the back. Cassandra, tired of watching the continuous battle, tossed a grenade at the Krogan's feet.

Neither of the combatants reacted fast enough to dodge the blast. The Krogan took the brunt of the blast while the Drell was thrown backward into some lab equipment. Marcus, sure that the Krogan was dead, fired several shots at the Drell to finish it off. His target was far more advanced than he realized. She dodged his fire and made her way to his position in a matter of seconds. Cassandra hit her with a biotic blast and they both followed with gunfire. The Drell was riddled with bullets and slumped to the floor. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Malone for her assistance. She nodded before motioning that they should move further into the lab. They made their way across the lab to another door. It slid open to reveal a Batarian and a Turian who were using their biotic powers to lift dead Cerberus scientists through the air. They both turned toward the humans and unleashed a biotic assault. Marcus ducked back behind the door and Cassandra put up a barrier. She then rolled to the side and created a singularity behind the Turian. The Batarian dove forward as soon as he saw his partner lift off the ground.

Captain Simons took aim at the Batarian, shooting him several times before he could roll to the side and away from the Captain's aim. Cassandra finished off the floating Turian and then used her biotic powers to pull the Batarian toward them. Marcus caught him in the air and finished him off with the Omni-blade. The door on the other side of the room slid open and a Drell, a Turian, and a Batarian entered through it. They were all shocked to see the N7 operatives. The Drell yelled something to the other two before backtracking into the room he came from. Both Cassandra and Marcus threw grenades into the room and then they took a few steps back and closed the door. A loud explosion sounded and they reopened the door. Both the Batarian and the Turian were dead. As they approached the now locked door on the other side of the room, a loud yell sounded behind them. They turned to find that they had incorrectly presumed the large Krogan to be dead. As he closed in on them, Cassandra sent out a biotic shockwave, knocking him off balance. He careened through the air and slammed into the wall just above the door.

She slammed her fist into the Krogan as he bounced off the wall, resulting in a release of biotic energy that sent the Krogan reeling. Within moments of him hitting the ground, she pulled her sword and ran him through. Marcus added an Omni-blade slash to the neck to ensure that they had killed him this time. As the Krogan slumped to the floor, Cassandra fired a few SMG rounds at him for good measure. Satisfied that he was truly dead, they turned their attention to the door. Marcus began hacking it as Malone throw up a biotic barrier. The door slid open and the Drell was waiting for them. He was unarmed and sitting with his legs crossed in the middle of the room. Captain Simons entered the room first and Cassandra followed closely behind. The Drell slowly stood up and dropped into a martial arts stance.

Marcus raised his assault rifle and fired several rounds. They flew through the air and hit the wall behind where the Drell had been moments before. The acrobatic Drell had tumbled to the side and was running toward Simons. Cassandra sent a biotic shockwave toward him, but he teleported past it and delivered a biotically powered punch to Marcus' gut. The Captain flew backward and slammed into the wall as his partner moved to intercept the Drell. She blocked two of his punches, but his kick landed. The pain from the biotic kick to the ribcage was almost enough to knock her unconscious. She writhed on the floor in pain as he slowly walked toward her. Marcus could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he brought his rifle up and aimed at the Drell. The bullets shot out of the barrel and sped toward his opponent. Without waiting to see if the shots connected, he tossed aside his gun and threw a punch at the Drell who was now turning to face him. The element of surprise allowed him to land two hits before his opponent was able to react.

Cassandra struggled to her feet as the other two exchanged blows. The Drell was slowly gaining the advantage with his biotically charged attacks, but Marcus wasn't backing down. She thrust her palm at the small of the Drell's back, sending a biotic shock through his body. This allowed Simons to continue his assault and land three more punches. The two continued to work in conjunction, making up for the Drell's superior acrobatic and biotic skill. Several times he teleported behind one of them only to find that the other had quickly adjusted and was already on the offensive. Marcus threw an elbow at his opponent and it connected. It knocked him back several steps and sent blood splattering across the room. The Drell dropped down onto one knee and Cassandra lunged forward with a biotically charged punch. It took the Drell directly in the chest, knocking him back several feet. She stepped forward to finish him off, but Marcus grabbed her arm.

"Come on, the strike will hit soon. We need to get out of here!" He said.

"What if he survives?" She asked.

"There is no chance of him surviving the blast."

She nodded and followed him at a sprint. Marcus yelled into his comm device to check and see if the shuttle was in position. Jackson confirmed that the shuttle was standing by to pick them up, but they only had thirty second to get to it. They rushed past the research lab and out onto the small platform outside of the Cerberus base. The Kodiak shuttle was getting slapped by the waves as it hovered out over the ocean. Marcus gave Cassandra a small boost and then jumped in the shuttle as well. They pulled away just as the first of the strikes hit the base. Their shuttle rocked off course, but the pilot quickly corrected. The N7 operatives sat down and strapped in as they watched the bombardment out the side window.

"That was far too close for comfort," Simons said as he leaned his head back against the chair.

"I thought it was kind of exciting," Cassandra said with a wink.

* * *

Hackett appeared over the vidcom and raised his eyebrows when he saw Captain Adams. He cleared his throat and continued to stare at the Captain. Adams pointed to himself as if to ask "me?" The Admiral nodded and waited for Captain Adams to leave the room. Hackett shook his head when Adams stopped at the door and looked over at Jackson. He turned to question the Admiral, but quickly changed his mind. Jackson stood up to leave, but Hackett held up his hand to motion for him to stop. The Admiral quickly looked over the reports that had been sent to him about the mission. Simons and Malone both stood at attention as he continued to read their reports. He let out a deep sigh before looking up at the two.

"You did fine work down there. I don't like what the Illusive Man is up to, but you two have kept more than one menace from getting free. I can't imagine the kind of devastation those men and women could have done if Cerberus had let them free. The two of you are among humanity's finest. With Shepard at the helm and soldiers like the two of you to back him up, we may just win this yet. Hackett out."

The End


End file.
